Site plans from the second community design meeting

First off, I’d like to thank the all the community members that came to share their energy and ideas on Tuesday night.  As part of the design brainstorming session, we broke everyone into groups between 6 and 8 people and spend about 45 minutes generating different concepts.  I’ve scanned the site plans that each group presented, for the neighbors who couldn’t attend.  This participation is vital in developing a vision for the Sunset Substation and we will be taking these ideas and collaborating with the steering committee, our landscape architect, structural engineer and solar consultant to synthesize multiple options to present at the next workshop, Wednesday, March 24th at 6:30 pm.

Group 1:

The plan features a grape arbor running along the west edge over seating and game tables, gateways at either end, an artist’s cottage with kiln, rainwater cistern, a trade/share area for garden compost, a playground with a possible connection to the outdoor patio next door, connected together with a sinuous path.  The park would also be a wifi hotspot.

The solar installation would occupy the roof of the cottage.

Group 2:

This group focused on having a canopy superstructure that each panel would plug into with the idea that each module could be donated and as the canopy fills out they would form a large protected outdoor gathering  and play space.  The result would allow sunlight to filter through the panels.   They could even extend over the top of the neighboring restaurant to maximize the capacity but also then give curious pedestrians on 32nd an idea of the public space off the street (granted, this would require an agreement, cooperation and participation of the owner of the building on the corner).

A small two story structure would house a community studio and an artist/caretaker unit above.  At the high SW corner, the scheme has a tower with a view to the southeast.

Group 3:

This scheme has a perimeter of planting with with a seating area set into the hillside, around a playful water element.  The existing concrete slab would be integrated into a more organic pathway.  Perhaps a series of large stones could double as seating, or be hewn with honed, level tops to act as game tables.  At the southern edge of the site, a solar canopy would provide some weather protection and act as a dramatic gateway to the park off the alley (visible from the street).

Group 4:

Group 4 used the existing slab as the central community gathering space with outdoor fireplace, sheltered by the photovoltaic panels above. On the west, there is a lane for bocce or horseshoes.  On the east, a pathway winds through planting, with an artist designed play area.  One additional interesting aspect is that the storage building doubles as a emergency disaster center (using solar power to charge cell phones, etc) which would become a natural gathering point for the neighborhood in time of need.

As you can see, we covered a lot of ground in the workshop and if I missed any aspects to your groups design, or you just want to comment, post your thoughts!  Keep in mind, this is the very first visualization of the park, so it will change quite a bit as the design is refined and developed.